Read More

The Killie legend, who made 409 appearances for the club, now finds himself with St Mirren as assistant manager to the impressive Jack Ross.

The pair joined last October with the club rooted to the bottom of the Championship table and it wasn’t all plain sailing early on, with a horrific six-game losing streak in the weeks after the appointment.

James Fowler posted the ad on LinkedIn in a bid to recruit new players

Read More

“Dundee United have strengthened and brought in a few players, Inverness Caley Thistle will be looking to go back up to the Premiership, Allan Johnston has a good squad at Dunfermline and there’s obviously Falkirk as well.

“But we believe in what we do and are looking forward to a positive season.”

Queens manager James Fowler in the dugout (Image: Dumfries Standard)

In the current football climate, it never comes as much of a surprise when a manager departs his role.

But Fowler’s sacking at Queen of the South seemed particularly harsh in what was a transitional season for the club. The club didn’t show a great deal of patience with his successor, Gavin Skelton, either, who left after just six months in charge.

Fowler only had to wait a few months before he was back at the coalface, though, and has enjoyed learning under Ross. And he insists being No.2 certainly has its benefits.

Fowler said: “It’s something I went to Queen of the South to do, going in there as assistant manager and helping Jim McIntyre. But I wasn’t there long before Jim left for Ross County and I was sort of thrown into the manager’s job.

“I’ve enjoyed it at St Mirren, it’s a really good club. The manager has done a brilliant job since he came in under some difficult circumstances last season. As assistant you’re still in amongst it but not having to deal with as much stress as the manager, in terms of the not-so-enjoyable jobs that come with that role.

“I’m still learning because I’m only 36 and the manager has been really impressive with the way he works and wants the team to play.”

St Mirren, Dundee United, Falkirk, Dunfermline and Inverness look like the teams who will vie for the Championship title next season. But it again begs the question of whether a larger top flight should be introduced to accommodate some of the country’s bigger clubs.

Fowler added: “When you look at the amount of big clubs there are in the Championship, there’s certainly an argument for opening the leagues up a bit.

“Especially when you’re trying to get fans to come back to the games, they like to go to different stadiums and it would bring a freshness.

“Playing teams four times – as well as potential cup games – can become quite monotonous.

“The likes of ourselves, Falkirk and Dundee United would add a lot to the Premiership.”